Easy Salmon Meal Prep Bowl

This easy salmon meal prep bowl has a base of quinoa and is topped with roasted veggies, mustard maple salmon and a lemon vinaigrette. Make this recipe over the weekend and have lunches ready to go for the week!

I’m back with another delicious bowl meal and this time it’s meal prep specific, which means this is the perfect recipe to prep on Sunday so you have lunches ready to go for the week ahead.

This salmon meal prep bowl is a new favorite of mine (and soon to be yours)! It’s super easy to whip up and packed with flavor thanks to the roasted veggies, maple mustard salmon and lemon vinaigrette.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The maple mustard salmon is chef’s kiss and really what takes this recipe to the next level!
• Easy to meal prep in advance for quick assembly during the week.
• It’s a complete and balanced meal, loaded with healthy fats, lean protein, fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals.
• It’s completely customizable. Feel free to make this recipe your own!

Ingredients Needed

• quinoa – the base of the recipe! You can use any type of quinoa you like from white, black, red to tri-color. Cook the quinoa according to package directions or use this simple tutorial on how to cook quinoa.
• vegetable broth – I recommend cooking the quinoa in vegetable broth to provide added flavor. If you don’t have broth on hand you can cook the quinoa in water.
• broccolini – adds a nice crunch with plenty of nutritional value! You could also use regular broccoli as a replacement.
• sweet potatoes – you’ll want to scrub your potatoes well and then cut them into even cubes. I like to leave the skin on because that’s where a lot of the nutritional value is, but you can definitely peel the sweet potatoes if you prefer.
• garlic – adds some nice flavor to the veggies and salmon!
• avocado oil – for roasting the veggies. You could also use olive oil if that’s what you have on hand.
• sea salt & pepper – used to season the veggies and salmon and to bring all the flavors together.
• salmon – the star of this recipe and a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids! You’ll want 4 evenly sized filets of salmon with the skin on. I recommend getting individual filets from your grocer but don’t be afraid of frozen filets, either! Flash-frozen fish can be just as healthy. Just make sure the salmon is thawed first if you are using frozen filets.
• maple mustard sauce – whole grain mustard, lemon juice, maple syrup, garlic, salt and pepper for a delicious, sweet & savory sauce to spread over the salmon. If you don’t have whole-grain mustard dijon mustard will work just fine and honey will work as a substitute for maple syrup.
• lemon vinaigrette – this delicious lemon vinaigrette really tops off the whole bowl!

How to Make

Cook quinoa: Rinse and drain quinoa. Add quinoa and broth (or water) to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Roast sweet potatoes: Add the sweet potato chunks to a large bowl and toss with 1 Tablespoon oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Keep the bowl for later use! Add sweet potato chunks to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or foil and roast for 20 minutes at 400°F, flipping halfway.

Roast broccolini: Prepare broccolini by adding it to the same bowl you used for the sweet potatoes and tossing it with 1 Tablespoon oil, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. When the 20 minutes is up on the sweet potatoes add broccolini to one half of the baking tray and return to the oven to roast for 12-15 minutes, until sweet potatoes and broccolini are tender.

Cook salmon: Season both sides of each salmon filet with salt and pepper. Place filets skin-side down on a parchment-lined baking dish or tray and roast for 10 minutes at 400°F. While roasting, mix together mustard, lemon juice, maple and garlic. Remove salmon from oven, spread sauce over salmon and return to oven for 4-5 minutes or until salmon is cooked through and flaky.

Serve: Divide quinoa into 4 servings (about ½ cup). Top with veggies, salmon and a drizzle of lemon vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Customize Your Bowl

These salmon bowls are totally customizable! Here are some ideas on how to make this recipe your own:

• Grain – feel free to swap the quinoa for any grain of choice. This bowl would be delicious with brown rice, white rice, barley, farro or even cauliflower rice.
• Protein – I love using salmon as the protein in this bowl, but it would also be delicious with this air fryer chicken breast or maple turmeric chicken. For a plant-based option try this crispy baked tofu or maple balsamic tempeh.
• Vegetables – don’t have sweet potatoes on hand or can’t find broccolini? Feel free to use whatever veggies you prefer! This bowl would be delicious with butternut squash, red potatoes, onions, brussels sprouts, broccoli, bell pepper, green beans, carrots, cauliflower or asparagus.
• Greens – want to add fresh greens to this bowl for some crunch? Go for it! Spinach, kale, lettuce or arugula are some excellent options.
• Nuts and seeds – add some nuts and/or seeds for some crunch and more healthy fats. Pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas), sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, pistachios, walnuts or pecans would all be delicious options.
• Dressing – I love the lemon vinaigrette, but you can totally switch it up! This bowl would also be delicious with my tahini sauce, nutritional yeast dressing, citrus tahini dressing, apple cider vinaigrette dressing or even this peanut dressing.

How to Meal Prep

This is the ultimate meal prep bowl. You can prep all of the components in advance and have a delicious, filling meal in minutes!

How to store: In four glass storage containers add a layer of quinoa to the bottom, followed by one salmon filet. Then add 1/4 of the sweet potatoes and broccolini next to the salmon, cover and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store the dressing in a separate container.

How to reheat: When ready to enjoy, reheat in the microwave, toaster oven or regular oven, then drizzle a little dressing over top and serve!

More Meal Prep Recipes

Be sure to check out all of the meal prep recipes as well as the full collection of dinner recipes on EBF!